The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

A mishmash, but even those who don't have children and have never lived in Miami or searched for a Wi-Fi connection in the Israeli desert will appreciate Barry's lighthearted absurdity.
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"A mishmash, but even those who don't have children and have never lived in Miami or searched for a Wi-Fi connection in the Israeli desert will appreciate Barry's lighthearted absurdity."

Another wide-ranging collection of funny essays about parenting—and "grammar, sex, camels, women, brain surgery, sex with women, how to become a professional author, airlines, Justin Bieber and death"—by best-selling humorist Barry (Insane City, 2013, etc.).
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In Doc's 21st adventure (Night Moves, 2013, etc.), promising characters get submerged in a colorful treasure hunt whose participants are at odds in not-very-interesting ways. When Doc reveals the identity of the malefactor behind the psycho biker, readers realize it doesn't much matter.
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"In Doc's 21st adventure (Night Moves, 2013, etc.), promising characters get submerged in a colorful treasure hunt whose participants are at odds in not-very-interesting ways. When Doc reveals the identity of the malefactor behind the psycho biker, readers realize it doesn't much matter."

A search for a pair of stone carvings stolen from Crow tribal lands in Montana leads Dr. Marion Ford and his pal Tomlinson to another round of wild and woolly adventures.
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Yes, it's another novel about exotic paranormal hybrids, but this one's written with wry humor that seeps into nearly every sentence, making it constantly entertaining no matter its subject.
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No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down from a fight, but there are a few she’d be happy to avoid. High on that list is tangling with Chicago political bosses. Yet that’s precisely what she ends up doing when she responds to Frank Guzzo’s plea for help in Brush Back, the latest thriller from bestselling author Sara Paretsky. For six stormy weeks back in high school, V.I. thought she was in love with Frank. He broke up with her, she went off to college, he started driving trucks for Bagby Haulage. She forgot about him until the day his mother was convicted of bludgeoning his kid sister, Annie, to death. Stella Guzzo was an angry, uncooperative prisoner and did a full 25 years for her daughter’s murder. Newly released from prison, Stella is looking for exoneration, so Frank asks V.I. for help. “Paretsky, who plots more conscientiously than anyone else in the field, digs deep, then deeper, into past and present until all is revealed,” our reviewer writes.
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